Bangladesh Air Force To Buy Kh-31A Supersonic Anti-Ship Missile

[Cookie Monster]

My thoughts exactly.

BAF is in a very sorry state currently. Instead of real adversary aircraft, it is overloaded with trainers, but that is never a bad thing. Training new pilots is a constant challenge. Aircraft can be sourced quickly, but replacing a well-trained pilot takes years.

I agree with most of your thoughts, but we do need some platform housing an air-launched anti-ship missile like the AM39 Exocet, as mounted on some of your Mirage 5's.

The recent news about Bangladesh acquiring supersonic Kh-31's is good news, which means we have (or will soon have) ARM capability. Having ARM capability is crucial to knocking out air search radars and fire control radars which is the first part of the mission to securing sea lanes, by disabling sensor capability for aggressor ships.

Once sensors are out, any aggressor ship pretty much becomes a sitting duck for Exocet or other air-launched missile hits.

Bangladesh also needs aircraft with strong RF and Optical signal jamming capability.

And smaller multiple AWACS platforms which you guys have would be great as well.

Getting aircrafts for specialized roles dilutes down the total amount of multirole jets BAF can get(bcuz u r essentially allocating some of the amount from that same budget towards another type of aircraft). It's not that strike aircraft like Mirage don't have their benefits...it's more like picking and choosing in a way to ensure the biggest bang for ur buck and packing the strongest punch with the least amount of resources spent.

If BD was like Qatar...I wouldn't be suggesting this. Again I would highlight the example of Sweden...
...the best bang for ur buck would still be a multirole single engine aircraft. One that is reliable and used around the world...and there already exists a vast array of munitions(air to air, antiship, ARM, air to ground missiles and bombs, etc) for it. This way BAF can carry out whatever type of mission is required... additionally
- an overall lower cost per jet(only one type will have to be maintained, pilot training, spare parts, etc).
- give BAF more leverage to get more goodies by placing a bulk order of just one type...rather than a couple squadrons of this and a couple squadrons of that.

BAF can also skip on air refueling tankers entirely. For missions requiring longer range either CFT(like on F16) or drop tanks would be fine. These fighter jets(F16, J10, Gripen) have enough range to engage most targets over BD air, extending into Myanmar, and over the sea.

As for AWACS...two could suffice...but three would be better. An economy the size of BD...and a country the size of BD(keeping in mind the challenges, geography, politics, etc.) can easily have a lean and effective air force with 72 fighter jets(single engine multirole) with the backing of 3 AWACS(where at least one is airborne at all times during hostilities/tense situation).

Slightly off topic...but like u mentioned about Pak's Mirages and AWACS...
...u will notice some other similarities about BD acquiring defense equipment that Pak already has...or BD members wanting defense equipment for BD that Pak has. This is not a coincidence...it's bcuz Pak also has a limited budget and tries to make the most of what it can(talking in general here...setting aside the instances of corruption, kickbacks, and in some cases even incompetence)...
Pak/BD could have a much closer relationship..and Pak can assist BD in building up its armed forces if only Hasina would allow closer cooperation/ties.

 

[Cookie Monster]

Like @Bilal Khan (Quwa) has mentioned many times before, a reasonable number of 4+ gen single engine multirole fighter like the F-16 or Gripen would be more than adequate for Bangladesh.

Other than the political aspects of a split buy, I'm not sure if the pros outweigh the cons in getting two or even three different types.

I sent you an article on your page regarding the USAF considering a buy of new build F-16s probably based on Block 70 model.

Air Force Eyes Drones For Adversary And Light Attack Roles As It Mulls Buying New F-16s

The future of the U.S. Air Force’s tactical aircraft fleet is under review, with some radical ideas under discussion.

www.thedrive.com

Still a very capable platform and probably alot cheaper to operate than any EFT or other dual engine type.

I wrote in my post above some of the pros of having one multirole single engine fighter jet as opposed to having multiple types.

A con of that could be too much dependence on whoever is the supplier of said fighter jet...
...this however should be less of a problem for BD rn bcuz the current superpowers(US, Russia, China, and western european countries) aren't against BD...so the threat of sanctions is a lot lower if for example BD was to acquire F16 block 70.
...with too much fragmentation(different suppliers of different defense assets)...sure u address the not being too dependent on any one country...but then u run the risk of what happened with IAF...where instead of all systems working together seamlessly...it was more chaotic.

BD can easily follow the same recipe as that of Pak. Develop its own datalinks...have ground stations where all the info is gathered together from all various sources(including Link 16). Acquire SAAB GlobalEye AWACS...which has Link 16 and allows for customer's own datalinks as well(essentially doing the same thing as those ground stations but in the air). This will tie together all the info gathered from various sensors like ground radars, airborne fighter jets, AWACS, etc. giving BD a complete picture of the movements of friendly and hostile assets. Further down the road air defense can be tied to this...
...this process would be much simpler if BD had a few suppliers with the mix of it's own indigenous efforts in key areas. If instead there was Russian, Chinese, and US stuff all mixed together...this would become a much much harder thing to integrate all together.

 

[Bilal9]

BAF can also skip on air refueling tankers entirely. For missions requiring longer range either CFT(like on F16) or drop tanks would be fine.

If a strike deep inside Myanmar is called for (say Naypidaw), I guess you could do with a CFT equipped platform, the F16I (Sufa) has a range of 3200km at least on Paper. And that was with the old fuel guzzler turbofans.

The Gripen is also offered with conformal tanks, don't know if the Brazilians opted for it.

Pak/BD could have a much closer relationship..and Pak can assist BD in building up its armed forces if only Hasina would allow closer cooperation/ties.

Of course! I am sure previous generation of BAF commanders were very closely aligned with PAF practice and doctrine (especially aces like Saiful Azam Sahab, who passed away recently). He attended his old Sargodhian re-unions routinely without fail.

However - Sheikh Hasina is getting long in the tooth and will stand aside soon. No Bangladesh AF commander is a lackey of Indian administration and influence, I assure you. I know a few of the old ones and the feeling is unanimous.

 

[Avicenna]

I swear I don't work for SAAB!

But I would rather have 32-48 of these than 16 Eurofighters.

 

[Tigers]

We also just singed a contract for Pantsir-S1 and Orlan-10 UAVs along with new radar systems.

Congratulations to you. Though these procurements do not appear in SIPRI database, I know of them but its good to have them noted. The other notable MAF procurement is Su-30s for which delivery is expected this year. Su-30s were scheduled for November of last year but Russia delayed deliveries because of COVID.

To be honest, I am puzzled by the Pantsir purchase. Turkish drones have neutralized Pantsirs and other Russian air defense systems in Libya, Syria and Armenia with relative ease. Russia has been offering steep discounts on Pantsirs ever since. But a discount is not a good reason to purchase an ineffective air defense system that reportedly has difficulty tracking UAVs and only has a success rate of 19% in Syria.

The other noteworthy development is Turkey expressing a desire for deeper defense ties with Bangladesh. This could be a signal that BAF will get Turkish drones in the future. We will have to see how the Forces 2030 unfolds for that.

 

[SpaceMan18]

Ha ha ha, that is no better than a Royal Barge, as the Thais call it. Do we have confirmed news?

11000 ton Thai-tanic.

Even the Thais had no money to operate this thing, where will the Myanmarese find the money?

This is hilarious. These generals will drive Myanmar to poverty, the way they are spending money and taking cuts from the purchases.

Duh Drug money lol

I swear I don't work for SAAB!

But I would rather have 32-48 of these than 16 Eurofighters.

True lol , but too bad BAF loves flying in death coffins

 

[MINN]

Congratulations to you. Though these procurements do not appear in SIPRI database, I know of them but its good to have them noted. The other notable MAF procurement is Su-30s for which delivery is expected this year. Su-30s were scheduled for November of last year but Russia delayed deliveries because of COVID.

To be honest, I am puzzled by the Pantsir purchase. Turkish drones have neutralized Pantsirs and other Russian air defense systems in Libya, Syria and Armenia with relative ease. Russia has been offering steep discounts on Pantsirs ever since. But a discount is not a good reason to purchase an ineffective air defense system that reportedly has difficulty tracking UAVs and only has a success rate of 19% in Syria.

The other noteworthy development is Turkey expressing a desire for deeper defense ties with Bangladesh. This could be a signal that BAF will get Turkish drones in the future. We will have to see how the Forces 2030 unfolds for that.

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True but those were being operated not by Russians but by idiots who do not know how to use them. While we have experience using the 2K22 Tunguska.

 

[Tigers]

True but those were being operated not by Russians but by idiots who do not know how to use them. While we have experience using the 2K22 Tunguska.

Didn't you hear the Russian army and navy is looking to unload their Pantsirs? It would seem even Russians can't operate Pantsirs correctly.

 

[SpaceMan18]

True but those were being operated not by Russians but by idiots who do not know how to use them. While we have experience using the 2K22 Tunguska.

Pantsirs just was a stupid purchase by Myanmar , just buy something else

 

[ghost250]

Pantsirs just was a stupid purchase by Myanmar , just buy something else

more stupid purchase ,more in their generals pocket....!!

 

[nahtanbob]

but but but our migs r nonupgradeable..!!
@tarpitz burmese navy will surely use their state of the art manpads to intercept our pesky kh31A!!

MANPADs against supersonic cruise missiles - i assume it is sarcasm

At least the 8 Mig-29s are finally being upgraded to be able to provide some real deterrence to MAF.

8 upgraded Mig-29s, 16 F-BGIs and those Yak-130s that could come in useful in WVR engagements should at least allow BD to stave off MAF for a week or two.

Myanmar air force is a joke

 

[Pakistan Ka Beta]

Congrats from Pakistan .

 

[UKBengali]

BAF can also skip on air refueling tankers entirely. For missions requiring longer range either CFT(like on F16) or drop tanks would be fine. These fighter jets(F16, J10, Gripen) have enough range to engage most targets over BD air, extending into Myanmar, and over the sea.

CFTs and drop tanks are a poor substitute for air-refuelling tankers as they mean that the aircraft is much heavier and also has longer to travel to get to its targets deep into Myanmar or the Bay of Bengal, and then come back to it's airbase.

An air-tanker can be on station hundreds of kms out from BD coast and be protected by it's fighter escorts off the Myanmarese coast.

A couple of A-330MRTTs for BAF should suffice and the total cost of 600 million US dollars is not prohibitive. A single A330 MRTT can stay on station for 4 hours 3-400 km off from the southern coast of BD near Myanmar and fully refuel 12 Gripen Cs TWICE.

 

[Cookie Monster]

CFTs and drop tanks are a poor substitute for air-refuelling tankers as they mean that the aircraft is much heavier and also has longer to travel to get to its targets deep into Myanmar or the Bay of Bengal, and then come back to it's airbase.

An air-tanker can be on station hundreds of kms out from BD coast and be protected by it's fighter escorts off the Myanmarese coast.

A couple of A-330MRTTs for BAF should suffice and the total cost of 600 million US dollars is not prohibitive. A single A330 MRTT can stay on station for 4 hours 3-400 km off from the southern coast of BD near Myanmar and fully refuel 12 Gripen Cs TWICE.

Im not saying that BAF shouldn't get air refueling tankers...
...I was brainstorming the BARE MINIMUM BAF could spend to have an edge and get the most out of that money spent.